


The Loneliness of Tartarus

by Victoria_Sapphire



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alone in Tartarus, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Annabeth is Afraid of Percy, Post-Tartarus (Percy Jackson), What-If
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-02
Updated: 2018-04-05
Packaged: 2019-04-17 07:49:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14184279
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Victoria_Sapphire/pseuds/Victoria_Sapphire
Summary: "I am afraid of myself, Annabeth. You don't want to know what I did in there to make me think like that."What if Percy fell into Tartarus alone? What would become of him? How would Annabeth react?





	1. Chapter I - ANNABETH

Annabeth barely hung onto the edge. Percy pulled her up onto the ledge with all his might. He cut her free from her bonds of Arachne's spiderwebs. As an act of revenge, Arachne hooked Percy around the waist and pulled him back. Annabeth lunged forward and grabbed onto his hands.

"Hold on!" she exclaimed. "Don't let go!"

Tears surfaced as she tried to pull Percy onto the crumbling ground. She wasn't strong enough, however, and he must've realized that.

"Annabeth, listen to me. I can't-" began Percy.

Arachne got the last laugh as Percy's hands slipped, and he tumbled into the churning darkness of Tartarus.

"Percy!" Annabeth cried out in desperation.

She knew he could hear her; he couldn't respond. Percy managed to call after her, but she couldn't make out what he was saying to her. Annabeth beat the ground, frustration pumping through her veins.

A kind, cold hand was placed on her shoulder. She looked up, seeing that it was Nico. He had a serious, somber tone to his face. His shaggy raven black hair covered his eyes at the top, and he looked especially menacing in the dim lighting conditions.

Nico helped her up, steering her away from the Pit. Annabeth sobbed into his shoulder. He didn't seem to mind at all. He guided her onto the Argo II. She walked to her room, head hung low. She climbed into the shower and began cleaning up.  
\---------------  
Annabeth sat on the edge of her bed. She heard a knock at the door. She jumped up and began digging through her chest of drawers.

"Can I come in?" Nico asked through the wooden door.

"No, not yet!" Annabeth warned.

She threw on a white blouse and jeans; her Camp Half-Blood t-shirt was in the wash to get off the blood, dirt, grime, and spiderwebs. Annabeth thrust open the door, revealing a frowning Nico.

"What is it?" she answered.

"Can I come in?" Nico inquired.

"Uh, yeah, sure!" replied Annabeth.

Nico walked in. He had a deadpan expression on his face. He turned to face Annabeth.

"I know what it's like to lose a loved one," he consoled. As an afterthought, he added, "Not to Tartarus, but she died nonetheless."

Annabeth choked back a sob. "He's not dead! He's still alive!" she cried. She swallowed. "Somewhere."

Nico sighed and said, "Percy's almost definitely dead. Now, come on. There's a meeting upstairs you need to attend."  
\-----------  
Annabeth twirled her new dagger in between her fingers. Jason poked and prodded at the table seriously. He was discussing how to get Percy back.

He turned to Annabeth.

"If he ends up working for Gaea, will you be able to talk him out of it, Annabeth?" Jason asked.

"Yeah, probably," she replied.

Jason smiled. "Good. Now, off to the Necromanteion, otherwise known as the House of Hades."


	2. Chapter II - PERCY

Percy didn't know how long he'd been falling. Perhaps an hour? Maybe even a day at most. All he knew is that his stomach was growling, an obvious sign he was hungry: starving, even. He sighed. He knew that nothing was going to save him. Maybe...

No. That's crazy, Percy thought.

According to some of the random facts Annabeth spouts, it would take nine days to fall into Tartarus. Now, he had only eight days left, if his assumption was correct that he had been falling for a day. Percy had a somewhat realistic guess that he was going to die of starvation if he wasn't going to die from the fall.

Percy slipped into a restless sleep as he fell.  
\--------------  
He woke up, jolted awake by the approaching light. His head swam with confusion. Why did he sleep that long? Was he asleep for eight days? Was he really that tired? Percy shook his head, shaking himself out of his stupor. He bit his lip to keep himself from screaming as he began hurtling faster and faster to the ground, barely stopping himself on a river right below him. Judging from the information Annabeth says sometimes, the river appeared to be the river Cocytus, the River of Lamentation.

Depressing thoughts filled Percy's head. They told him to give up and drown, but his morale was strong enough for him to (just barely) resist and push himself to the shore. The air smelled like Smelly Gabe from his childhood; it burned his lungs. He tried to pull himself away from the Cocytus and get to the next big river: the Phlegethon. 

Percy reached the River and was surprised to see that it was made up of liquid fire. With shaking hands, he reached into the Phlegethon. It didn't burn. Although, he wasn't as susceptible to fire because of his lineage as a son of Poseidon. He didn't know why he had to drink from it. All he knew was that Annabeth told him that if he ever found himself in Tartarus to drink from the river Phlegethon, because that's what the monsters do.

Percy gulped as he drank the liquid fire he had raised from the Phlegethon. He raised Riptide, deciding not to turn it back into a pen in the event he got snuck up on by a monster or two. Or maybe five. He really didn't know nor care. He held his breath to restrain himself from sighing out relief that the shifting noises he heard was just his imagination.

Although, I can't really be sure in this place, can I? thought Percy.

He shook himself off and began the long journey to the Doors of Death.  
\-----------------  
Just a little bit later, Percy realized how much information he had gleaned from listening to Annabeth's ramblings. He didn't think it'd be useful, because he thought he wouldn't have to use it. Now, he was glad he listened (at least, somewhat). The knowledge Annabeth shared helped him through the Cocytus and the Phlegethon alone. 

Percy shivered. A cold wind managed to blow through his shirt. He had capped Riptide and slipped it in his pocket after not having come across any monsters to even fight. He heard the familiar, annoying laughter of a monster he really wished he wouldn't have to see ever again: Kelli. She was with her sisters, Tammi, Serephone, and two other empousai he didn't know the name of. 

Percy wondered how in the world they could be laughing. He saw their goat-legged, metal step from up ahead. He heard it, too. 

Not exactly the stealthiest of approaches, he thought bitterly.

He uncapped Riptide as quietly as he could. Unfortunately, he couldn't uncap it quietly enough. Kelli turned around after hearing the sound. She spotted him, and she hissed. Serephone and Tammi turned around; so did the other two empousai. They stupidly charged at him. Percy was prepared this time. He hacked at her but missed.

"What...?" he muttered, confused.

Kelli snarled angrily. He raised his sword and slashed. An empousa who he didn't know the name of jumped on his back and started clawing at his face. Percy spun around, trying to flip her off like Annabeth judo flipped him in Camp Jupiter. He couldn't, however. His vision grew black at the edges, suggesting he was about to pass out. If he passed out now, he was a dead man.

He clung onto the hope that he would see Annabeth, Jason, Piper, Leo, Frank, Hazel, Nico, and his family again. He felt a surge of strength as he threw the empousa off his back. He stabbed her in the back. Kelli scratched at him, trying to do as much damage as possible. Percy easily dispatched her. Only three empousai were left, now.

He was breathing heavily, sweating from the stifling air and the heat from the Phlegethon. A grin spread across his face as he stabbed Tammi in the throat. A thought sprang into his head. It was a plan, and it was dark. But he didn't care.

"If you think about it, Serephone, the other one is leader now that Kelli, Tammi, and the third one are dead," declared Percy.

Serephone growled and screamed, viciously tearing apart the other empousa. Percy finished off Serephone after she turned on him, baring her teeth and charging. He capped Riptide again. He trusted that the monsters wouldn't notice hearing the sound of a pen-sword come uncapped, or that they would already notice him, and he didn't need to stay quiet.

Percy sighed and continued down the path of the Phlegethon. He came to a dead end. He groaned inside his brain, and he found a rocky face on a cliff. He began climbing. Thoughts raced through his head. A plan was formulating inside his mind.

Get to the Doors of Death, go through them, and find our friends, he reminded himself.

Percy nodded. He shimmied along the edge of a thin ledge. He descended into the deep realm of concentration as he climbed the rocky cliff face.  
\---------------  
Percy's stomach felt like it had shriveled into a walnut. His legs felt like they were made of jelly. The fact that he had been awake for Zeus only knows how long made his eyes feel like they were made out of super heavy metal. He gritted his teeth as he tried to sit down on a slightly larger ledge. It fell out from underneath him, and he just barely grabbed onto the rocks and pulled himself up onto the now disconnected pathway.

Percy continued walking, grumbling, "Can't I get a minute of rest?"

He found a rock that jutted out more so than the others, and he held onto it. He found a crook for him to put his foot. He put his other hand on a thinner rock. He tried to pull himself up, but the smaller rock fell out from under his hand, resulting in him nearly falling to his demise. Percy panted quietly out of the adrenaline that was coursing through him at this point. 

He caught his breath, though just barely. He found another rock for him to put his hand on. He pulled himself up and put his free foot in another crook. He grabbed onto another rock, and then another. He repeated the process of climbing up the rocky face until he was almost to the top. He stopped to catch his breath.

Percy's head spun around. His arms were weak. 

Must be because I was pulling myself up on lack of food, water, and sleep, he reasoned.

He chuckled softly as he completed climbing the vertical surface. He pulled himself onto the ground. He rolled onto his back, breathing out a sigh of relief. He raised his hand in front of his face, thinking about everyone back at home. He realized that he had the strength to pursue the hope of finding his friends again.

"Bring it on, Tartarus," challenged Percy.

He stood up, prepared to face the horrors that lied before him.


	3. Chapter III - JASON

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have this on Wattpad, so that's why it keeps coming out so fast.

Jason tossed and turned in his bed. He struggled finding the sweet release of sleep. It took a lot to calm Annabeth down to the point where she could sleep, but they managed to do it. He sighed to himself as he rubbed his face in anxiety. It was different without Percy there, that was sure. He combed his fingers through his hair nervously.

He wasn't sure what he was thinking at the time he fell asleep, but he did.  
\-------------------  
Jason dreamed that Percy was able to send a message to Rachel and Grover in Camp Half-Blood from Tartarus. He followed Rachel and Grover as they delivered the message to Reyna, who was with Octavian and other centurions of New Rome standing atop a Manhattan skyscraper. She was informed by Rachel that she must personally deliver the Athena Parthenos to Half-Blood Hill to stop the oncoming war between Camp Jupiter and Camp Half-Blood.

"Are you sure you can do it?" asked Rachel.

Reyna nodded and looked at all the centurions (including Octavian). "Yes. Yes, I can do what you have requested of me," she confirmed.

Rachel smiled and said, "Good. Thank you for your cooperation."

She left, and Reyna mounted Scipio, her Pegasus. She informed everyone of her plan to deliver the Athena Parthenos to Half-Blood Hill to stop the war.

"But, m'lady, you can't!" Octavian rebutted, a desperate tone in his voice.

Reyna waved her hand to the side and replied, "No. What is done is done. You cannot change my mind, Octavian."

She flew off to Europe, intent on finding the Seven.  
\----------------------  
Jason awoke with a start. A plan was forming in his head. He jumped out of bed and located Leo, who was steering the Argo II. 

"Change course to Split, Croatia," he ordered.

Leo pursed his lips and asked, "Why should I?"

Jason groaned. "The site of the palace and tomb of the Emperor Diocletian is there. His scepter is believed to be able to control the spirits of dead Roman soldiers who worshiped the gods of Olympus," he sighed. He shifted around and added, "He's a personal hero of Reyna and I."

Leo nodded. "Aye, aye, sir," teased he.

Jason smiled at him. "Great."

He walked below deck and knocked on Annabeth's door to inform her of the plan. After all, she of all people should know their plans. No answer came. He knocked again. Still, no answer. Sighing again, Jason threw open the door to find nothing in there. A sticky note lay on her perfectly made bed. He approached it, and he read what was on it to himself.

"Don't look for me. I'm in Percy's room. I can't stand the thought of not having him here with me," Jason murmured.

He looked up and walked out of the room, desperate to find Annabeth. He expertly located Percy's room and knocked on the door.

"D-don't come in!" a stuttering female voice said from inside.

"What are you doing in there, Annabeth?" asked Jason.

A pause of silence followed. Jason laughed silently.

"How do you know I'm here?" was the answer that finally came.

"Listen, I know that you're sad and that you really miss him, but you have to come out, or at least open the door, for me to tell you what's going to happen next," he replied.

"Alright, just a minute."

Jason heard the pitter-patter of feet on the floor. He heard the door clicking as it was unlocked. The door swung open, revealing an Annabeth with puffy, red eyes and a red, splotched face from crying. He wrapped her up in a hug. She grunted to try and tell him that the hug was too tight. He muttered his apology, and she dragged him in the room.

"Tell me what's going on," requested Annabeth.

"We're going to go to Split, Croatia. The tomb and palace of Emperor Diocletian. His scepter is said to-" he began, before he was cut off.

"-Be able to control dead Roman soldiers. Yeah, I know," Annabeth finished.

Jason looked at her, surprised she knew such information.

"What are you planning on doing with it?" she asked.

"We could use it at the Necromanteion to have the dead on our side," Jason said.

"We have Nico," reasoned Annabeth.

"But can he control Roman ghosts?" he inquired.

Annabeth shifted around. She looked uncomfortable, not knowing information.

"Exactly. Now, let's get some sleep before the morning hours."


End file.
